Government affairs

The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act (S.1352/H.R.2736) was reintroduced in Congress on April 8. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) led the Senate version, while Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) led the House companion bill. They were joined by 122 bipartisan cosponsors in the House and 36 in the Senate. This comes at a critical time, following President Trump’s recent executive order that ended collective bargaining for over a million federal workers.

First introduced in 2019, the bicameral legislation would establish a nationwide minimum standard to guarantee public-sector employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain in states where these protections do not exist. Currently, no federal law protects the right of public-sector workers to join a union, and collective bargaining is prohibited in 25 states.

“Public sector workers teach our children, protect our safety, and keep our communities moving forward—they deserve the right to organize,” Senator Hirono said. “The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act will help ensure that millions of public sector workers across our country have the federal protections they deserve as they fight for fair wages, benefits, and improved working conditions.

“I know the power of collective bargaining because I’ve lived it,” said Congressman Norcross, a union electrician, member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus.

NALC President Brian L. Renfroe strongly emphasized the union's unwavering commitment to workers' rights, stating, “NALC is proud to be an open shop with more than 93 percent voluntary membership in our union. We do not take our organizing success or collective-bargaining rights for granted, and every public sector employee deserves the right to join a union. NALC supports the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act that benefits and protects our fellow public servants and urges Congress to pass it,” he said.